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Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken (+ Instant Pot) + Recipe Video

4/22/17

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken – this recipe is the perfect set and forget meal with a delicious homemade teriyaki sauce. Best of all, just 10 minutes of prep made in a crock-pot or your Instant Pot pressure cooker. Plus keto-friendly options and a step-by-step recipe video!

Teriyaki Chicken (or Chicken Teriyaki) was one of the very first Japanese takeout dishes I had back in high school. I wasn’t brave enough to try sushi yet, so Teriyaki Chicken seemed like the safest bet.

Fast forward to today and anything with a deliciously sweet and sticky teriyaki sauce still shows up regularly around here.

I decided to re-post this Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken recipe with some updated photos and include instructions for making it in an Instant Pot.

And for those that are following a paleo, low carb or ketogenic diet, in the recipe I’ve also included some substitutes that you can use.

HOW DO YOU MAKE SLOW COOKER TERIYAKI CHICKEN?

This recipe for chicken teriyaki couldn’t be easier to make. It’s a simple set and forget meal with just 10 minutes of prep making it just perfect for busy weeknights.

Skip the bottled sauce by making this homemade teriyaki sauce. It’s super easy to make with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey, Mirin, garlic and ginger.

Mirin is pretty easy to find these days in the International section of most large grocery stores and online but you can definitely leave it out or use dry sherry or rice wine instead.

For a keto friendly version of teriyaki chicken, swap the honey for a low carb sweetener and leave out the Mirin.

Everything gets tossed into the slow cooker while the chicken soaks in all that amazing sweet and savory sauce. Once the chicken is nice and tender, just grab two forks and shred them into bite-sized pieces.

You can serve this over your favorite rice, zoodles, quinoa or noodles. Sprinkle with some sesame seeds and scallions and you’ve got a delicious meal that can easily rival your local take-out restaurant.

This Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken would also make great leftovers or if you prep this on your Sunday meal prep, you can have yummy work or school lunches for the rest of the week. You could even pack some chopsticks to make it an authentic Asian meal.

MEAL PREP TIPS FOR SLOW COOKER TERIYAKI CHICKEN:

Mix the sauce ingredients together the day before and store in an air-tight container in the fridge

Make the rice or noodles the day before and store in an air-tight container in the fridge

Weekly meal prep or the leftovers can be packed into lunch containers for the week – I use this lunch container

Place the chicken in the bottom of your slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, honey, vinegar, mirin, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours or HIGH for 2-3 hours.

To thicken sauce, combine the corn starch with water and stir into the slow cooker (lskip this step for Keto if desired). Cook on HIGH for another 30-40 minutes, or until sauce has bubbled and thickened up (You can thicken the sauce in a saucepan on the stove top at medium high heat, if that works better for you). Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Shred chicken into pieces with two forks and serve with any remaining sauce along with your favorite rice, quinoa or noodles.

For lunch bowls, make rice (or zoodles) and vegetables and divide evenly among lunch containers. Add chicken and drizzle on remaining sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.

For Instant Pot Method:

Place the chicken in the Instant Pot.

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, honey, vinegar, mirin, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger and pour over chicken.

Close and seal Instant Pot.

Turn the venting knob to SEALING and press MANUAL (old models) or PRESSURE COOK (new models) on high for 5 minutes. The Instant Pot will take a few minutes to come to pressure.

Once the Instant Pot has finished cooking the chicken and beeps, allow to naturally release for 15 minutes.

Open the lid and remove chicken from Instant Pot and shred with two forks.

Press the SAUTE button on the Instant Pot. Combine the cornstarch with water and stir into the Instant Pot (skip for Keto if desired). Allow the sauce to bubble and thicken up. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt, black pepper and/or hot chili flakes needed. Add the chicken back into the Instant Pot and combine with sauce and heat until hot. Serve with any remaining sauce along with your favorite rice, quinoa or noodles.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds, green onions and serve over rice, quinoa or zoodles, if desired.

As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. There are affiliate links in this post of which I receive a small commission. All opinions are always my own.

Comments

10 minute prep, you said? *goes into relax-mode* I totally get what you are saying, when I first started living on my own I was so overwhelmed by all these new cuisines I’d never get at home! Now I’m totally in love with trying alllll the different flavours – even though I have to say I’ve never made teriyaki chicken myself. Hmm. Going to have to save this for later, thanks for sharing! – Viv

Hi Angela, yes, the recipe is for fresh or thawed chicken. I haven’t tried with this recipe but if you are using the Instant Pot – you can use frozen. Just cook it on High Pressure for 10 minutes instead of the 5. You may have to increase the cornstarch amount later because there will be more liquid – also you may have to adjust the salt level as well. Good luck, hope that helps!

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Hi, I'm Kelly. I'm a mom of two who shares healthier and authentic Asian recipes I grew up making. Plus low carb & family friendly recipes. AboutWork With Me